Tobaccowala uses one of the fiercest brand battles of the day to underscore his view: the race between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Politics aside, he believes one of the reasons Obama is outperforming Clinton is that the New York senator is borrowing from marketing practices circa 1980, while Obama’s strategy is rooted firmly in the present.
“With Clinton, it’s been top-down, command and control; with Obama, it’s been grassroots facilitation,” he says. For one thing, Obama portrays an inclusive image: He uses the word “we” instead of “I.”
Tobaccowala believes Obama has delegated more authentically and his grassroots organization has proven deft in planning and managing the chaos of a campaign. As Clinton’s organization has fumbled, her top-down style raises questions about her ability to run a country.
While Obama’s grassroots approach has helped him raise a lot of money, Clinton spent aggressively on a one-hour town hall meeting telecast on the Hallmark Channel this month, billed as “largest, most interactive town hall in political history.” In fact, only 540,000 households saw it, and the town hall ended with Clinton being cut off in mid-sentence by a previously scheduled program, the perhaps aptly named A Season for Miracles. Obama, meanwhile, benefited from a tribute video produced by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, at no cost to the candidate, inspired by Obama’s “Yes, We Can” speech. It is now approaching 10 million views on YouTube.
